England vs Pakistan 2016: Misbah-ul-Haq proud of his players after 'special win' at Lord's
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has described the win at Lord’s as a very special win and he revealed that he had always dreamt of winning at the Mecca of Cricket.
"To defeat England at Lord's is special. But for me as captain, this win at Lord's is special in many ways. Because it was after the spot-fixing scandal at Lord's that I was made test captain and we started rebuilding the team," Misbah said in an interview.
A brilliant century by the 42-year-old and an inspiring spell by Yasir Shah propelled the Pakistan team to a famous win at Lord’s after 20 long years. The captain said that the spot-fixing scandal had haunted them for months but he is happy that the whole team responded well during the rebuilding process.
"Pakistan cricket has not had it easy in the last six years with teams also refusing to play in Pakistan because of the security issues," he added.
Also read: Pakistan keen to move on from 'push-up' celebrations as preparations continue for Old Trafford Test
"But I am proud of my players that they have braved it out and faced all these problems manfully and kept on producing the goods. To see happiness and joy on the faces of the Pakistanis at Lord's was special for all of us the oldest player to score a Test century in 84 years said.
He has warned his boys not to be complacent as there are 3 more matches in the series and England will come back very strongly. He also said that the Lord’s win was not just about him but the whole team. Everyone contributed and chipped in well.
"It is because of everyone that we won. The contributions in both innings by Asad Shafiq and his crucial partnership with Sarfaraz Ahmed, Yasir and Rahat's bowling it all fell nicely into place. I am very proud of my players," he said.
Also read: Pakistan's Yasir Shah is the best leg-spinner since Warne, says Ben Stokes
Misbah was handed the captaincy immediately after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal and it was a challenging experience for the captain to again reunite the team. The England series is the first one which Pakistan are playing outside Asia after 3 and half years so the players of the Pakistan side took it as a challenge and wanted to perform well.
"England is a very good side and they are particularly good in their own conditions. So we know we have some tough sessions ahead of us and the series is still wide open. We need to now just work harder on improving our fielding and batting. In England the batsmen still have to show better judgement while playing shots," he added.